What are the Most Common Orthopedic Injuries?

At Urgent Orthopedics, we see all sorts of injuries to the musculoskeletal system, that’s an anatomy class term for the bones, joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, and skin. Sometimes when people are in our offices being treated for an injury, they ask what other injuries we’ve seen that day. Is one injury more common than others?

Everyone likes stats, so here are the Top 10 orthopedic injuries. Let’s do this Letterman style, even though he’s no longer on late night TV.

#10 Meniscus tear— The cartilage in our knees allows for easy movement of the legs. Awkward placement, slipping, and sports trauma can tear this cartilage.

#9 Carpal tunnel— The path through which the nerves that engage your index and middle fingers pass is called the carpal tunnel. When you overuse your hands, arms, and fingers for repetitive tasks, they become inflamed and have trouble getting through the carpal tunnel.

#8 Rotator cuff tear— The rotator cuff allows us to move our shoulder and arm in circular motions, such as when we throw a ball. If the motion is extreme, or if it is done excessively past the point of recovery, the rotator cuff can become stressed or tear.

#7 Plantar fasciitis— The plantar fascia is the ligament attached to the toes and the heel of your foot. When it becomes stressed, from overactivity and bad shoes in most cases, it can cause severe pain.

#6 ACL tear— The ACL is the main ligament in your knee and can be torn by abrupt turns, often when your foot catches. It is mainly injured by sports trauma or accidents.

#5 Tennis elbow— Named for the vibrations sent through a tennis racket down into the elbow, you don’t have to play tennis to get “tennis elbow.” Whenever the tendons around the elbow get irritated and inflamed, you’ll know you have tennis elbow due to the pain.

#4 Ankle and foot sprains— A sprain occurs when the ligaments, the bands of fibrous tissue that connect two bones, are stretched or torn. Estimates place the number of ankle sprains in the U.S. at over two million per year.

#3 Stress fractures— Too much stress and muscle wear can lead to a stress fracture, usually in the feet and the ankles. They aren’t as obvious as a full break, but these are broken bones just the same.

#2 Shoulder dislocation— Accidents, sports injuries, and other contact situations can cause the shoulder joint to dislocate. Once you have one dislocation, your shoulder is more prone to dislocate again.

And the #1 orthopedic injury is…

Wrist fracture — Falling during a Midland ice storm, an injury in a football game, even simply landing at a bad angle when tripping can all lead to wrist fractures. In most cases, a cast is all that’s needed.

Now you have the Top 10 injuries we see at Urgent Orthopedic Specialists. If, unfortunately, you find yourself adding to the numbers, please call the team at Urgent Orthopedic Specialists at (432) 520-3020, and we’ll get you fixed up.